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Trondheim Jazz Orchestra & Espen Berg: Maetrix

By Chris May
August 17, 2024
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Trondheim Jazz Orchestra & Espen Berg: Maetrix

Lana and Lilly Wachowski's The Matrix (1999)—an inspiration for Norwegian pianist and composer

Espen Berg

piano
b.1983

" data-original-title="" title="">Espen Berg's Maetrix—divides opinion. The movie is regarded by some, including one assumes Berg, as a prescient masterpiece addressing the existential threat posed to humanity by digital technology. Others say it is pretentious twaddle.

No worries. Discord is unlikely to greet Maetrix. Berg's gift for writing good tunes is front and center, the toplines and soloists riding rhythmic platforms which are borderline reminiscent of

Nik Bärtsch

piano
b.1971

" data-original-title="" title="">Nik B?rtsch's "zen funk" of the early 2000s. More than Bartsch's work, however, Berg's multilayered suite navigates its complexity without fuss, made approachable by warm melodies and sumptuous harmonies. It is tangibly the product of human artistry. Digital technology is incapable of creating such fresh beauty, not yet, anyway. Check the YouTube below.

Maetrix is Berg's first orchestral album. He was commissioned by the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra to write the piece in 2016 and it has since been performed at festivals in Norway and Sweden. In the press materials, he says that he composed the music with fourteen particular players in mind, intending that each should bring their singularities to its performance. Tenor saxophonist

Hanna Paulsberg

saxophone, tenor

" data-original-title="" title="">Hanna Paulsberg, trumpeter

Hayden Powell

trumpet
b.1983

" data-original-title="" title="">Hayden Powell, vibraphonist

Rob Waring

vibraphone

" data-original-title="" title="">Rob Waring and drummers

Tomas Jarmyr

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Tomas Jarmyr and

Hans Hulbækmo

cymbal

" data-original-title="" title="">Hans Hulb?kmo are among those shining brightly on the album. But this is an all-star band (see Personnel below) and there are no passengers. It was recorded in an Oslo studio in 2021 and the original 2016-17 lineup survives on it pretty much intact, though there are two significant changes: psychdance violinist

Ola Kvernberg

violin
b.1981

" data-original-title="" title="">Ola Kvernberg is replaced by

Adrian Loseth Waade

violin

" data-original-title="" title="">Adrian Loseth Waade and vibraphonist

Mattias Ståhl

vibraphone
b.1971

" data-original-title="" title="">Mattias St?hl by Waring.

Maetrix is recommended to those who like their jazz well versed in the tradition but unafraid to stretch out of it. Recommended, too, is Berg's 2023 album Water Fabric (Odin), another suite, recorded with a sextet that includes Hayden Powell and a string trio. A review can be read here.

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Track Listing

Artemix + Cadae; XIII; B?lge; Zipline; Maetrix; Climbing.

Personnel

Espen Berg

piano

Additional Instrumentation

Eirik Hegdal: soprano and baritone saxes; Kirsti Huke: voice; Sissel Vera Pettersen: alto saxophone, voice; Hayden Powell: trumpet; Hanna Paulsberg: tenor sax; Hildegunn ?iseth: trumpet, goat horn; Adrian Waade: violin; Daniel Herskedal: tuba, bass trumpet; Marianne Baudouin Lie: cello; Rob Waring: vibraphone; Ole Morten V?gan: upright bass; Tomas J?rmyr: drums; Hans Hulb?kmo: drums.

Album information

Title: Maetrix | Year Released: 2024 | Record Label: Odin Records

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